The Black and White

By August Pittman

Spirit week! A fun time with students wearing hats, silly socks, and pajamas, but is it really the solution for inclusion?

Inclusive Schools week was a district wide spirit week created to promote inclusion among students. However, I truly believe that it does little to make those who are neurodivergent to feel included. In school, messages such as “be kind to others regardless of who they are” are pushed, and those are indeed incredibly important.

Yet, even statements not meant to be unkind can be devastating for the groups affected by them. A good example of this is students using the word autism as an insult. It’s not uncommon to hear someone in a classroom saying something along the lines of “I didn’t read the directions right, that’s so autistic.” Consider the fact that 1 in 36 children have autism. This means that it’s very likely that someone with autism may hear, and feel ashamed for who they are.

This situation is a nightmare, and a spirit week frankly feels more superficial than anything. Behaviors like this stem from ignorance, and that is something that needs to be addressed, rather than taking a “Facebook approach to life”. This isn’t virtual reality, and fun photos do little to create change for real problems.

Imagine if students were educated on neurodiversity during this week, rather than dress up. They could, for example, watch videos on the subject during advisory. Less fun, perhaps, but it could help attack the root of the issue and very importantly, make the climate welcoming for everyone. 

Inclusivity could be embedded into lessons. Perhaps when learning about civil rights, students could learn about the passage of the ADA. Or in math class, there could be a discussion about dyscalculia. We could have a student focus group of neurodiverse students to share how school decisions impact them and to educate the student body about their lived experiences.

Our education system has a responsibility to educate students on relevant issues such as this. When neurodiversity is discussed, it should be more than an abstract concept to mock, because it’s part of the identity of the people they will live, work, and learn with. So why don’t we dedicate this time reserved to promote inclusion to substantive education? The kind of work that will really make a difference is addressing stereotypes and fostering empathy.

Admittedly, overhauling the entire education system may not be feasible, however, small steps are still in the right direction, so let’s work together to make whatever time we have for inclusion productive.